JP7179045B2 - selective dielectric coating - Google Patents

Description

The prior art describes information carriers with electrically conductive structures that can be read by devices with touch-sensitive screens. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a system comprising a capacitive information carrier for acquiring information. The present invention relates to a system comprising a capacitive information carrier having at least one conductive layer arranged on a non-conductive substrate and a surface sensor, the two elements being in contact. Furthermore, the above-described invention provides a capacitive information carrier, a capacitive surface sensor, a contact between the two elements, and a data processing system connected to the surface sensor to provide a touch structure on the information carrier. interactions that can be evaluated and that can trigger events associated with the information carrier.

In WO 2005/020001, a system for the transmission of information is provided, the system comprising at least a capacitive information carrier, the capacitive information carrier having at least one conductive layer disposed on a non-conductive substrate; an information carrier;
- a capacitive surface sensor;
and the information carrier is in contact with the surface sensor, the contact being preferably static and/or dynamic contact. It is further preferred that there is a capacitive interaction between the information carrier and the surface sensor. In the sense of the invention an information carrier is in particular a medium for the storage, duplication, accumulation and/or allocation of information.

The capacitive information carrier according to US Pat. No. 5,800,001 comprises at least one conductive layer arranged as a touch structure on a non-conductive substrate. The touch structure comprises at least one bonding surface, which is preferably connected to at least one touch point via at least one conductive trace.

The system described in WO 2005/010003 allows reading a capacitive information carrier with a capacitive surface sensor. Applications of this technology include, but are not limited to, playing cards, trading cards, stamps, postmarks, postage, merchandise logistics, merchandise tracking, entry systems, entry tickets, closed area access, virtual content, marketing applications, customer loyalty, lotteries and sweepstakes, membership passes, transit passes, payment applications, certificates of authenticity, anti-counterfeiting, anti-copying, signatures, receipts, bank statements, patient information leaflets, objects in computer games, Music/video/ebook downloads, bonus stamps/programs, device control or gift cards.

Arrangement of at least one conductive layer as touch structures on a non-conductive substrate, with at least one touch point, bonding surface and/or conductive traces, provides a certain level of reproducibility and recognition accuracy throughout the recognition process. Given. The detection accuracy, ie the relative position of the touch point detected by the data processing system compared to the physical relative position of the touch point on the capacitive information carrier, is limited. These limitations are due to the characteristics of capacitive reading. Conductive traces, as well as conductive areas representing touch points, have been shown to change the capacitance of capacitive surface sensors. Their geometry, especially their size and their area, are designed so that the conductive traces do not trigger events by themselves, but the conductive traces are the actual touch points detected by the capacitive surface sensor. Move the center of the area of . This results in a slight deviation of the relative position of the touch points detected by the data processing system compared to the physical relative positions of the touch points on the information carrier. These deviations must be incorporated when setting tolerances or minimum "distances" for similar touch structures.

According to this approach, the conductive elements forming the touch structure are grouped according to their function into touch points called desired elements and bonding areas and conductive lines called "necessary but interfering elements". be able to. The purpose of the touchpoint is to trigger an event at the surface sensor. The purpose of the necessary but interfering elements is to couple to the capacitance of the human user's body and to galvanically connect the touch points to the coupling surfaces or to each other. These elements should not trigger any events at the surface sensor.

WO2011/154525

The object of the present invention is therefore to overcome the disadvantages and drawbacks of the information carriers known from the prior art, to provide the information carrier with a separation between the desired and the necessary but interfering elements on the touch screen. is to increase the capacity contrast of In particular, increasing the capacitive contrast between the touch point on the one hand and the conductive trace on the other hand in order to improve the detection accuracy and increase the number of different shapes of the conductive structure that can be distinguished by the touch screen. It is preferable to let Another object of the invention is to provide an information carrier formed from a conductive surface of an object or a conductive object. This object is achieved by the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments result from the dependent claims.

In one aspect, the present invention is a capacitive planar information carrier having a front surface and a back surface, comprising a non-conductive substrate and a first conductive area, a second conductive area and a third conductive area. ,
a) the electrically conductive area is applied to at least the front side of the information carrier,
b) overlying the first conductive area a first dielectric layer having a first relative permittivity ε1 is disposed;
c) a second dielectric layer having a second dielectric constant ε2 is disposed over the third conductive area;
It relates to an information carrier.

Touch structures known from the state of the art are usually overprinted with ink or covered by another non-conductive substrate in order to visually hide the touch structures. It is presently known that the dielectric properties of the cover layer applied to the conductive elements of the touch structure affect the capacitive effect of the touch structure on the surface sensor. It was quite surprising that this finding was particularly true for the dielectric constant of the cover layer of the elements of the touch structure.

In the context of the present invention, the term "permittivity" ε preferably denotes a measure of the strength that an electric field influences, preferably affected by a dielectric medium. The dielectric constant of a medium preferably indicates how much electric flux is generated per unit charge in that medium. Therefore, dielectric constant is preferably related to the ability of a material to resist an electric field. The permittivity of homogeneous materials is preferably given as the relative permittivity _εr relative to that of the vacuum permittivity _ε0 . In the context of the present invention, dielectric constant is preferably also called dielectric constant. In connection with the present invention, the touch points are overprinted with a first dielectric layer having a first dielectric constant ε1.

The side of the substrate on which the touch structures are located is preferably called the front or A side of the information carrier and the other side is preferably called the B or back side of the information carrier.

In the context of the present invention, the first conductive area is preferably an element of a conductive structure whose detection on the touchscreen is desired, the effect of which on the touchscreen is intended to be enhanced by the present invention. The element that is being touched is called a touchpoint. The purpose of a touchpoint is preferably to trigger an event on a surface sensor and/or to mimic the placement or characteristics of a fingertip, the touchpoint characteristics being such that the touchpoint is located on one or more fingers. In the sense that input can be performed on the surface sensor like the tip of the . It is particularly preferred that the information is encoded by the location of the touch points on the electrically conductive structure.

In the context of the present invention the information is for example the first conductive area and/or the conductive structure formed from the first conductive area, the second conductive area and the third conductive area , the distance of the touch points from each other, the assignment and/or arrangement of the touch points on the information carrier, the angle enclosed by the imaginary lines connecting the touch points, and/or the number of touch points. preferably.

であり、それにより、第1の誘電体層で覆われた導電性要素の容量性の影響は、第2の誘電体層で覆われた導電性要素の影響より強力である。 The second conductive area is preferably called bonding surface, bonding area or contact area. The purpose of the coupling surface is to couple to the capacitance of the human user. The third conductive areas are preferably called conductive traces or connection lines. The purpose of the conductive traces is to galvanically connect the touch points to the bonding surfaces or to each other. These elements, namely the bonding areas and the conductive traces, are therefore required for reasons of functionality, but they themselves are not supposed to interact with the touch screen. That is, if these necessary but interfering elements do not affect the detection process of the desired element, i.e. the touch point, or the capacitive effect of the necessary but interfering elements on the touch It will be recognized by those skilled in the art if it can be significantly reduced compared to the effect of . Preferably, the bonding areas and the conductive traces represent so-called "necessary but interfering elements" that result in undesired deviations in the position of touch points perceived by the touch screen. In connection with the present invention, the conductive traces are overprinted with a second dielectric layer having a second dielectric constant ε2. Preferably, the first relative permittivity ε1 is greater than the second relative permittivity ε2, i.e.

, whereby the capacitive effect of the conductive elements covered with the first dielectric layer is stronger than that of the conductive elements covered with the second dielectric layer.

Coating the touch points with a first dielectric layer having a specific first dielectric constant ε1 and coating the conductive traces with a second dielectric layer having a specific second dielectric constant ε2. However, due to the different dielectric properties of the first dielectric layer and the second dielectric layer affecting the impact of the corresponding conductive elements on the touchscreen, the touch point detection accuracy is affected by an unexpectedly strong effect. It was surprising that it could be used to improve

Preferably, the first relative dielectric constant ε1 is greater than the second relative dielectric constant ε2. In this preferred case, the capacitive influence of the touch point, which is preferably covered by a first dielectric layer with a first dielectric constant ε1, is in absolute numbers, in particular preferably with a second dielectric constant ε2 compared to the effect of conductive traces covered by a second dielectric layer having .

The capacitive effect of the touch structure on the surface sensor is affected by the dielectric constant ε _r of the cover layer. Preferably, the dielectric constant is also denoted by the Greek letter κ or k. Surprisingly, the inventors have found that, according to the present invention, conductive areas covered with a high dielectric constant (high-k) material with a large dielectric constant are better than low-k materials. It turns out that the capacitive influence on the touch screen is stronger. Preferably, at least two different materials with different dielectric constant values are used to cover the elements of the touch structure as dielectric layers in order to increase the differential capacitive impact on the surface sensor. A so-called high-dielectric constant material with a high dielectric constant is preferably used to cover the touch points, and a so-called low-dielectric constant material with a low dielectric constant is preferably used to cover the conductive traces. These materials are preferably printed on side A of the information carrier covering the corresponding conductive elements of the touch structure.

Due to the preferred coating of the touch points with a high dielectric constant material with a high dielectric constant, when the information carrier according to the invention contacts the surface sensor with side A of the information carrier facing the surface sensor, the touch points are: The advantage is that they have a greater impact on capacitive surface sensors compared to conductive traces.

In connection with the present invention, it is preferred that the surfaces of the touch points and conductive traces are strictly covered by the first dielectric layer and the second dielectric layer. For some applications, it may also be preferable for the dielectric layer to cover an area that may be slightly larger than the surface of the touch points and conductive traces.

C…静電容量
ε₀…真空誘電率（ε₀＝8.8541878176・10^-12 F/m）
ε_r…材料の比誘電率
A…平行板コンデンサーの面積
d…平行板コンデンサーの板間の距離 The capacitive effect of a conductive component can be described by using the following parallel plate capacitor formula.

C: Capacitance ε ₀ : Vacuum permittivity (ε ₀ = 8.8541878176 10 ^-12 F/m)
_εr …Relative permittivity of material
A…Area of a parallel plate capacitor
d…Distance between plates of a parallel plate capacitor

Since ε ₀ is a constant, C can be increased by increasing ε _r , increasing area A, and/or increasing distance d. A refers to the dimension of the touch point, which is constant in this example. The invention therefore preferably takes advantage of the different dielectric constants of the materials, also called k in the context of the invention.

In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the first dielectric layer consists of a dielectric ink having a first dielectric constant ε1 greater than 10, preferably greater than 20, most preferably greater than 40. Preferably the touch points are covered with the first dielectric layer. Even materials with dielectric constants greater than 10 have been shown to be well suited for increasing the capacitive impact of touch points. Nevertheless, the strongest effect of the dielectric constant of the material on the capacitive influence of the touchpoint can be achieved by using dielectric inks with dielectric constants greater than 40. Note that dielectric constant values are given for the dry state of the ink. The term "in the dry state" is preferably used for information carriers according to the invention that have been manufactured. That means that the conductive areas and dielectric layers are dry.

In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the second dielectric layer consists of a dielectric ink having a second dielectric constant ε2 of less than 4, preferably less than 3, most preferably less than 2. This second dielectric layer is preferably applied over the conductive traces. It was quite surprising that such a strong reduction of the capacitive effect of the conductive traces on the touchscreen could be observed when the conductive traces are covered by a second dielectric layer.

Even with dielectric constants in the range less than 4 in the dry state for the second dielectric layer, their particular linear geometry with length l much greater than the width w of the conductive traces allows the connecting lines Surprisingly, it is well suited for reducing the capacitive effects of Preferably, the first conductive area is formed from sub-areas representing touch points of a conventional information carrier. Preferably their detection by the touch screen is desirable, ie the touch points are supposed to trigger an event on the touch screen. In the context of the present invention, touch points have dimensions in the range 1 mm to 20 mm, preferably 4 mm to 15 mm, most preferably 6 mm to 10 mm. If the touchpoint is designed as a circle, for example, the term dimension can preferably refer to the diameter of the circle.

It was surprising that the reduction in the effect of the second dielectric layer was due to polarization effects within the layer. The best overall reduction effect is observed in connection with a second dielectric layer having a relative permittivity ε2 less than 2 when applied to conductive lines.

In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the first conductive area is overprinted with a dielectric layer having a dielectric constant greater than 40 and the third conductive area has a dielectric constant less than 2. Overprinted with a dielectric layer. This combination makes a large difference in the capacitive impact of these areas on the touchscreen, greatly contributing to accurate, rapid and reliable detection.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the electrically conductive areas are in galvanic and/or electrical contact. The elements of the electrically conductive structure formed by the touch points, connection lines and contact areas are preferably interconnected. In the context of the invention this means that each element has at least one connection with another element of the electrically conductive structure. For example, it may be preferred that the touch points are aligned and two touch points are connected by a conductive trace. For other purposes, it may be preferred that the touchpoints form, for example, circular structures to which the touchpoints are interconnected. It may be preferred that the contact area is connected to at least one of the touch points by at least one conductive trace.

The term "galvanically and/or in electrical contact" means in the context of the present invention that the electrically conductive structure is suitable for conducting electricity. Any change to the electrical and/or galvanic properties applied to one element of the conductive structure is thereby transmitted within that structure, whereby the effect of the change is reflected in all of the conductive structures. are distributed equally over the elements of .

For some applications it may be preferred that the coupling area is also covered by a high-k dielectric material and/or layer. As mentioned above, the coupling area is used for coupling to the user's electrical potential when the information carrier is in contact with the capacitive surface sensor. Contacting preferably means that the touch points and conductive traces are located on the surface of the touch screen while the bonding area is located outside the touch screen. This preferred embodiment of the invention allows the user to easily access the bonding area in order to set the entire conductive layer, ie touch points, conductive traces and bonding area, to his potential. Bonded areas, on the other hand, do not trigger touch events because they are not in contact with the touchscreen. Therefore, it may be preferable to apply a high-k dielectric to the bonding area to facilitate the transfer of the user's potential across the conductive traces to the touch point.

Surprisingly, detection of the capacitive information carrier is also preferred when a low-k dielectric is printed over the coupling area, as may be preferred for some specific applications of the invention. also works well. It can appear, for example, when the touch point should be visually emphasized by the first dielectric layer. It may be preferred that neither the high-k dielectric nor the low-k dielectric be printed over the bonding area.

In further embodiments of the present invention, areas of the non-conductive substrate not covered with conductive areas can be covered with a low-k or high-k dielectric material and/or layer. Preferably, the low-k dielectric is applied on top of those areas not covered by any element of the conductive structure. Surprisingly, covering these areas with a high-k dielectric does not interfere with touch point detection. This is because no conductive material is printed over those areas. Advantageously, for these areas, a low-k or high-k dielectric is used to compensate for any height differences that may be caused by overprinting conductive areas with dielectric ink. It can be overprinted by materials and/or layers.

It was surprising that detection deviations that can be caused by necessary but interfering elements, especially conductive traces, can be significantly reduced by the preferred embodiments described above.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the non-conductive substrate is selected from the group comprising paper, cardboard, plastics, wood-based materials, composites, glass, ceramics, textiles, leather and/or any combination thereof. It is also made from a flat, flexible, non-conducting material. The use of flexible materials is preferred, as the flexibility of the substrate material simplifies the manufacturing process and allows the application of a wider range of manufacturing and printing methods. When plastics are employed, it is preferred to use PVC, PETG, PETX, PE, PP, PC, PS and synthetic papers.

If cardboard is used, it is preferred to use either coated or uncoated cardboard, depending on the purpose of the application. It may be preferable to use a light transmissive or light non-transmissive substrate depending on the desired appearance of the final product. A preferred thickness of the substrate has been shown to be between 20 μm and 2000 μm, more preferably between 50 μm and 1000 μm, most preferably between 150 μm and 500 μm.

The capacitive information carrier is preferably a flat product such as a card, coaster, label or the like. It may be preferred that the capacitive information carrier is part of a spatial object, eg a package. The term "spatial object" preferably refers to a 3D object having a length, width and height greater than, for example, 0.5 cm. Spatial objects in the context of the present invention are preferably not flat objects such as cards in particular.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the electrically conductive areas are manufactured by an additive printing method selected from the group comprising offset printing, flexographic printing, gravure printing, screen printing and/or digital printing. It was quite surprising that the thickness of the resulting film was homogeneous over the entire printing area when using a given printing method. It was also surprising that the layers, ie the conductive structure and the dielectric material, can be advantageously printed using the same printing process. More advantageously, the layers can be printed in-line in one mechanical pass. In connection with the present invention it is preferred that only one side of the substrate is printed. It was quite surprising that the electrically conductive elements are preferably manufactured in one process step by the same method and using the same material. Advantageously, mass production methods such as printing processes are preferred for manufacturing information carriers according to the present invention, as they have the opportunity to produce large quantities at low cost.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the electrically conductive areas are manufactured by chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition and/or sputtering processes. In connection with the present invention, a vapor deposition process is preferably used to produce high purity, high performance solid materials. In chemical vapor deposition processes, the substrate is preferably exposed to one or more volatile precursors that advantageously react and/or decompose on the substrate surface to produce the desired deposits. Physical vapor deposition refers to various vacuum deposition methods used to deposit thin films, preferably by condensation of a desired film material in vaporized form on a substrate. Physical vapor deposition does not involve chemical reactions at the surface to be coated as in chemical vapor deposition, but preferably involves purely physical processes such as high temperature vacuum evaporation with subsequent condensation, or plasma sputter bombardment.

It is also preferred that the conductive elements can be applied to the substrate by a sputtering process. The term "sputtering" preferably refers to a process in which atoms are ejected from a solid target material by bombardment of the target with energetic particles. This process is preferably driven by momentum exchange between ions and atoms in the material by collisions. Layers of conductive material applied by the vapor deposition methods described above have advantageous mechanical properties because they are harder and more corrosion resistant than coatings applied by other processes known to those skilled in the art. is. Most coatings applied by the sputter process have high heat resistance, enhanced impact strength, excellent abrasion resistance, and are so durable that additional protective coatings are not required. Chemical vapor deposition and physical vapor deposition advantageously allow a wide variety of different materials to be applied to a substrate.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the material of the electrically conductive areas is metal particles, nanoparticles, especially silver, gold, copper and/or aluminum, electrically conductive particles, especially carbon black, graphite, graphene, ATO (antimony oxide tin), a conductive polymer layer, especially Pedot, PANI (polyalinine), polyacetylene, polypyrrole, polythiophene, pentacene or any combination thereof. Further preferred materials can be salts, electrolytes, inks, fluids or any combination thereof.

Conductive elements of a given material allow for significantly improved galvanic and/or electrical contact between single conductive elements and excellent electrical conductivity within the conductive structure. I found out. It was quite surprising that such a large number of different materials can be used to manufacture the conductive elements of the information carrier, thereby allowing great flexibility regarding the manufacturing process of the conductive elements. Furthermore, the information carrier according to the invention can easily be adapted to several applications in which predefined characteristics have to be fulfilled.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention the dielectric layer is manufactured by an additive printing method selected from the group comprising offset printing, flexographic printing, gravure printing, screen printing and/or digital printing. As mentioned above, this advantageously allows the information carrier according to the invention to be manufactured in only one mechanical pass, thus reducing manufacturing costs and manpower effort.

Materials for the manufacture of high-k dielectric layers are selected from the group including, but not limited to, ceramic filled inks such as titanium dioxide, barium titanate, strontium titanate or lead zirconate titanate. From the list of materials given, one skilled in the art can recognize the favorable properties of the materials used to manufacture the dielectric layers and apply this knowledge to materials that become available in the future. In the context of the present invention, the high-k dielectric material preferably has a dielectric constant of greater than ten.

Materials for the production of low-k dielectric layers are preferably selected from the group comprising common printing inks, varnishes and any other materials commonly used in print production. In the context of the present invention, low-k dielectric materials preferably have a relative dielectric constant of less than four.

In another aspect, the invention provides a method for manufacturing an information carrier according to the invention, comprising:
a) providing a non-conductive substrate;
b) applying a first conductive area, a second conductive area and a third conductive area on a non-conductive substrate;
c) applying a first dielectric layer comprising a dielectric ink having a first dielectric constant ε1 over the first conductive area;
d) applying a second dielectric layer comprising a dielectric ink having a second relative permittivity ε over the third conductive area;
about a method comprising

The method according to the invention comprises in particular the printing of one or more layers of a conductive ink on a non-conductive substrate and the printing of one or more layers of a dielectric layer with a high dielectric constant ε on the touch points. and printing one or more layers of dielectric material having a low dielectric constant ε2 over the conductive traces.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the first dielectric layer has a first dielectric constant ε1 greater than 10, preferably greater than 20, most preferably greater than 40 in the dry state. It is also preferred that the second dielectric layer has a second dielectric constant ε2 of less than 4, preferably less than 3, most preferably less than 2 in the dry state.

In another aspect the invention relates to a method of detecting an information carrier according to the invention by means of a touchscreen, the front surface of the information carrier being in contact with the touchscreen. In connection with the present invention it is preferred that the electrically conductive structure and the dielectric layer are printed on the front side of the information carrier, preferably also called the A side. Therefore, the desired increase in the capacitive contrast of the different elements of the conductive structure is strongest when the information carrier is detected by bringing its front surface into close contact with the touch screen.

In another aspect, the invention is the use of an information carrier according to the invention, wherein the first electrically conductive area is localized for capacitance on the touchscreen by bringing the information carrier into contact with the touchscreen. Relating to use, to generate change. A change in capacitance on the touch screen is advantageously brought about by bringing the touch screen according to the invention and the information carrier into contact, where the information carrier faces the touch screen with its front side. Preferably, this contact is static and/or dynamic contact. A static touch in the sense of the invention is a touch in which the position of the information carrier on the touch screen does not change. Dynamic contact refers to contact in which at least one of the two devices, ie the touchscreen and the information carrier, is in motion.

Below are examples of calculations for low and high dielectric constant materials that illustrate the mode of action of the two dielectric layers. Calculation examples are based on the following formulas mentioned in the description of the invention.

Calculation example for low-permittivity elements ε ₀ Vacuum permittivity (ε ₀ = 8.8541878176 10 ^-12 F/m)
ε _r =2 (low dielectric constant ink)
A 50,3 10 ^-6 m ² ; (for average touch point size)
d 5 μm (average thickness of dielectric layer)

Calculation example for high permittivity element ε ₀ vacuum permittivity (ε ₀ = 8.8541878176 10 ^-12 F/m)
_εr = 40 (high dielectric constant ink)
A 50,3/10 ^-6 m ² ; (for average touch point size)
d 5 μm (average thickness of dielectric layer)

The ratio of C _low /A to C _high /A is 1:20, i.e. the capacitive effect of a touch point overprinted with a high-k material is "needed" to be overprinted with a low-k material. 20 times higher compared to “There are interfering elements”.

The advantageous design of the information carrier according to the invention makes the capacitive interaction between the touch points and the touch screen stronger and more reliable, since essentially only the touch points of the information carrier This is because it is recognized by the touch screen. Therefore, the deviation when the position of a particular touch point is detected can be greatly reduced by software, thus improving the accuracy of detection, which is the advantageous use of high dielectric constant ink. This is because the physical position of the touch point can be detected more clearly and with less error tendency.

In conventional information carriers, touch points are detected by a capacitive reading device, including some deviation from their actual physical position. This shift is due to the capacitive effects of the conductive traces and coupling areas, as they affect the detection and evaluation of capacitive signals by the touch controller of the touch screen. It was surprising that such deviations and position shifts can be significantly reduced when using the information carrier according to the invention. Tests have shown that these unwanted shifts and deviations are reduced by at least 50% compared to conventional information carriers when low-dielectric materials with ε _r =2 and high-dielectric materials with ε _r =40 are used. found to do. The surprising effect of this is to overprint the touchpoints with a high dielectric constant material of ε _r =40, thus promoting the capacitive effect of the touchpoints on the touchscreen, and to replace the conductive traces with a low dielectric constant of ε _r =2. by overprinting with high density materials, thus minimizing their impact on the touch screen. This effect occurred especially in contact with touch screens, which was not anticipated by those skilled in the art.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the information carrier is formed from an electrically conductive surface of an object or an electrically conductive body, the first part of the electrically conductive surface of the object or the electrically conductive body having a first relative permittivity ε1 It is covered by a dielectric layer and produces a first signal in a capacitive reading device.

Preferably, in the context of the present invention, the object may be any conducting or non-conducting object. Preferably, the object can be a 3D object, such as an aluminum can, or a flat object such as a card, label, tag, or the like. The object has an electrically conductive surface.

Alternatively, for the application of layers with dielectric materials having different dielectric constants ε _i it is preferred to use a conductive body as substrate. In the context of the present invention, the electrically conductive body is preferably an object which as a whole represents an electrically conductive body. For example, the term may relate to a plastic bottle made from a non-conductive plastic material that is filled with a conductive material, eg, a conductive fluid such as an electrolyte.

Preferably, said dielectric layer consists of a dielectric ink having a first dielectric constant ε1 greater than 10, preferably greater than 20, most preferably greater than 40.

In connection with the present invention, it is preferred that information can be encoded within the conductive surface of the object or the first portion of the conductive object. Advantageously, information can be easily detected by using a capacitive reading device. The term "capacitive reading device" is not limited to capacitive surface sensors such as touch screens in this particular embodiment of the invention, but in particular refers to a specific reading device suitable for any kind of capacitive sensing. Note that it is possible to The term "conductive surface of an object or first portion of an electrically conductive object" preferably refers to a specific portion of the electrically conductive surface of an object or the electrically conductive object itself. Preferably, the electrically conductive surface of the object or this first portion of the electrically conductive object comprises at least one sub-area.

It was quite surprising that by using a completely conductive surface and applying two different dielectric materials to it, it is possible to generate preferably different signals on a capacitive reading device.

A high dielectric resulting in a highly capacitive influence on the conductive surface of the object or the first portion of the conductive object, preferably of the sub-area forming the conductive surface of the object or the first portion of the conductive object It can be overprinted with dielectric material. The layer thickness of the high dielectric constant material is preferably greater than or at least equal to the thickness of the low dielectric constant material to prevent air gaps between the subarea and the capacitive reading device. The low dielectric constant material can preferably be printed on the conductive surface of the object or the second portion of the conductive object.

It was quite surprising that the preferred embodiments allow perfectly conductive objects or even objects with conductive surfaces to be readily used to encode information. Moreover, this advantageously enables applications not disclosed by the prior art. Preferred embodiments advantageously allow the use of fully conductive packages, packages containing aluminum, other conductive materials or conductive contents to decode information. The present invention unexpectedly makes it possible to use the use of generally metallized substrates for decoding information in capacitive surface sensors.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the electrically conductive surface of the object or the second part of the electrically conductive object is covered by a dielectric layer having a second relative permittivity ε2 and/or a low permittivity spacer material and is capacitive A second signal is generated in the reading device, the first portion and the second portion forming a conductive surface or object to be read by the capacitive reading device. For example, if the object is a can or bottle, it may be sufficient to overprint the first part and/or the second part on the base of the bottle or can.

In the context of this embodiment, the term "dielectric layer having a second dielectric constant ε2" preferably refers to a layer consisting of a low dielectric constant ink, which in the dry state is preferably , corresponding to a dielectric constant ε2 of less than 4, preferably less than 3, most preferably less than 2. We have found that the most preferred low-k dielectric available is air, which has a relative permittivity of ε _r =1. Printing inks having a dielectric constant close to this dielectric constant ε _r =1 were thereby found to be most suitable for the purposes of these embodiments.

In the context of the present invention, the low dielectric constant ink is preferably printed at 100% coverage onto the conductive surface of the object or printed onto the conductive object. In connection with the present invention, it is preferred that the electrically conductive surface of the object is partially printed with low dielectric constant spacers, eg by small dots spaced from each other. This advantageously provides an air buffer. In preferred embodiments, this will advantageously reduce the capacitive influence of the conductive surface of the object or the second part of the conductive object, i.e. the second part covered by the low-dielectric spacer. The capacitive effect of the part is reduced compared to the capacitive effect of the conductive surface of the object to which the low dielectric constant spacer is not applied. The second portion thereby advantageously provides a second signal to the capacitive reading device.

Preferably, the low dielectric constant spacers are formed by hills, in other words the hills are preferably raised compared to the surface to which they are applied. The mounds have a certain height, diameter and distance from each other, these dimensions being advantageously adaptable to the specific application of the information carrier. In the context of the present invention, the low dielectric constant spacers are preferably raised so that they cannot easily level with the initial state.

In the context of the present invention, the sum of the conductive surface of the object or the first portion and the second portion of the conductive object is the total surface area of the conductive surface of the object or the conductive object that is read by the capacitive reading device. It is preferable to correspond. This preferably means that the electrically conductive surface of the object or the second portion of the electrically conductive body preferably corresponds to the total surface area of the electrically conductive surface of the object or the electrically conductive body minus the first portion. in other words, the second portion is preferably after the conductive surface of the object or the first portion of the conductive object is overprinted with a first dielectric layer comprising a high dielectric constant material, Represents the remainder of the total surface area read by the capacitive reading device.

In a further aspect, the invention is the use of an information carrier, wherein a first signal generated by a conductive surface of an object or a first portion of a conductive object is a conductive surface of the object or a conductive object for use different from the second signal generated by the second part of the .

Preferably, the capacitive reading device detects both the conductive surface of the object or the first portion and the second portion of the conductive object. However, in the context of the present invention, it is preferred that two portions overprinted with dielectric materials having different dielectric constants are given different signals whose strength depends on the dielectric constant ε of each portion. A first portion comprising a dielectric material with a high permittivity ε1 produces a first signal in a capacitive reading device, the first signal being an object comprising a dielectric material with a low permittivity ε2 preferably different from the second signal generated by the second portion of the conductive surface of the conductive object. For example, the controller of a capacitive reading device assigns a first signal corresponding to a '1' to the subarea with a high dielectric constant ε1 and a second signal corresponding to a '0' to a subarea with a low dielectric constant. It may be preferred to be able to assign a portion of the rate ε2, and the signal '0' can be called 'no signal' in the context of the present invention.

In connection with the present invention it is preferred that the first portion, ie the sub-area forming the first portion, provides a first signal that can be read by a capacitive reading device. Preferably, when in contact with the capacitive reading device, a capacitor is formed on the one hand from the conductive surface of the object or the first part of the conductive object and the electrodes of the capacitive reading device, and the conductive surface of the object or the conductive The absence or presence of the first part and/or the second part of the object advantageously influences the electric field existing between the components of the capacitor.

In another preferred embodiment, the first part, ie the sub-area forming the first part, mimics the arrangement, properties and/or physical effects that a fingertip can trigger on a capacitive reading device. The term "property" preferably refers to electrical properties such as, but not limited to, capacitance, conductivity, dielectric constant, and/or mechanical properties, such as, but not limited to, dimension, shape, size, geometry, arrangement, It can refer to a characteristic. The term "placement" preferably refers to the manner in which at least one fingertip can be placed relative to the capacitive reading device, which is that a certain number of different placements of the fingertip correspond to the anatomy of the human hand. This is because variation is limited by scientific limits. The term "physical effect" preferably refers to the effect produced by the conductive surface of the object or the first portion of the conductive object in the capacitive reading device. In preferred embodiments of the invention in which the sub-areas of the first portion mimic the placement, properties and/or physical effects of a fingertip, the capacitive reading device is preferably represented by a touchscreen. For other applications in the context of this embodiment, it may be preferable to detect the information carrier by a specific capacitive reading device, where the term "specific capacitive reading device" means , refers to a capacitive reading device specifically developed for detecting information carriers.

Furthermore, it is preferred that the conductive surface of the object or a second portion of the conductive object generate a second signal that can be detected by the capacitive reading device. In some embodiments, the signal, preferably the second signal, is below a certain threshold such that the signal is preferably so weak that it can be interpreted as no signal by the capacitive reading device. Sometimes preferred.

In a further aspect, the invention provides a method of manufacturing an information carrier, comprising:
a) providing a conductive surface of an object or a conductive object;
b) applying a dielectric layer having a first relative permittivity ε1 over the electrically conductive surface of the object or the first portion of the electrically conductive object;
about a method comprising

In another preferred embodiment, the invention provides a method for manufacturing an information carrier, comprising:
a) providing a conductive surface of an object or a conductive object;
b) applying a dielectric layer having a first relative permittivity ε1 over the electrically conductive surface of the object or the first portion of the electrically conductive object;
c) applying a dielectric layer having a second relative permittivity ε2 and/or low permittivity spacers on the electrically conductive surface of the object or on the second portion of the electrically conductive object;
about a method comprising

In a further aspect the invention relates to a method of detecting an information carrier, wherein the information carrier is brought into contact with a capacitive reading device.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be best understood when considered in light of the following description of the accompanying drawings.

1 shows a side view of an information carrier on which steps a) and b) of the manufacturing method have been performed, ie a non-conductive substrate is provided and a non-conductive area is applied to the front side of the substrate; FIG. 1 is a side view of an information carrier, the information carrier having been completed with the manufacturing method, ie the information carrier has been provided with a dielectric layer; FIG. Fig. 2 shows a side view of an information carrier according to the invention when in contact with a touch screen for reading information encoded in electrically conductive structures of the information carrier; 1 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of an electrically conductive object within the meaning of the invention; FIG. 1 is a top view of a preferred embodiment of an electrically conductive body within the meaning of the invention; FIG. FIG. 2A is a side view of a preferred embodiment of an object with an electrically conductive surface; FIG. 4 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of an object with a conductive surface having low dielectric constant spacers; 1 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of an object with a conductive surface on which detection of an information carrier is performed by a capacitive reading device; FIG. 1 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of an electrically conductive body within the meaning of the invention, in particular of a first portion and a second portion; FIG. FIG. 2 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of an object comprising a conductive surface with low dielectric constant spacers, in particular a preferred embodiment of the first portion and the second portion; Fig. 2 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of an object with an electrically conductive surface, in particular a preferred embodiment of the first portion and the second portion;

FIG. 1 shows a side view of an information carrier 1 comprising a non-conductive substrate 2. FIG. The front surface 6 of said substrate 2 is printed with a conductive structure comprising three different conductive areas: touch points 3 , bonding areas 4 and conductive traces 5 . In connection with the present invention, detection of touchpoints 3 is desirable. In connection with the present invention, detection of bonding areas 4 and conductive traces 5 is undesirable. In connection with the present invention, conductive traces 5 preferably connect the touch points 3 to at least one bonding area 4 of the conductive structure and/or to each other. The capacitive influence of the coupling area 4 and especially the conductive traces 5 on the touchscreen 12 is preferably reduced compared to the capacitive influence of the touch points 3 on the touchscreen 12 .

In order to increase the capacitive contrast between the touch points 3 on the one hand and the conductive traces on the other hand, the first and third conductive areas of the information carrier 1 have different dielectric properties, in particular relative permittivity are overprinted by dielectric layers 9, 10 made from different materials. Conductive traces 5 are preferably overprinted with a dielectric material having a low dielectric constant in the range of less than four. The touch points are preferably overprinted with a dielectric material having a dielectric constant greater than 10, more preferably greater than 20, most preferably greater than 40. In the context of the present invention, dielectric materials used to overprint conductive traces 5 are preferably referred to as low-k dielectric materials. The dielectric material used to overprint the touchpoints 3 is preferably referred to as a high-k dielectric material.

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the information carrier 1, where the manufacturing method has been completed, ie the information carrier 1 has been provided with dielectric layers 9,10. A dielectric layer 10 of a low-k dielectric material covers the conductive traces 5, the bonding areas 4 and the non-conductive substrate 2, as can be seen from FIG. 2, which shows a preferred embodiment of this aspect of the invention. Capacitive traces covered with a second dielectric material having a lower dielectric constant thereby have a reduced capacitive effect on touch screen 12 . The touch points 3 are overprinted with a first dielectric layer 9 made from a high dielectric constant material. These areas exhibit increased capacitive effects on the touchscreen 12 .

Figure 3 is a side view of the information carrier 1 when in contact with the touch screen 12 for reading the information encoded in the electrically conductive structures 3, 4, 5 of the information carrier 1 according to the invention. As can be seen from FIG. 3, the information carrier 1 is in contact with the touchscreen 12 with the front surface 6 of the information carrier 1 facing the surface of the touchscreen 12 .

FIG. 4 shows a side view of a preferred embodiment of the electrically conductive body 32 within the meaning of the invention. An information carrier 20 is shown comprising a conductive body 32 serving as a substrate for two different dielectric layers 9, 10 with different dielectric properties, in particular different relative permittivity ε. The first portion 28 of the electrically conductive body 32 is overprinted with a layer 9 of high dielectric constant material, preferably having a dielectric constant in the range of greater than 10, more preferably greater than 20, and most preferably greater than 40. there is The conductive body 32 is overprinted with a second layer 10 of low dielectric constant material having a dielectric constant in the dry state preferably in the range of less than 4, more preferably less than 3, most preferably less than 2. A portion 30 is further provided. Conductive surface 22 of object 24 or first portion 28 of conductive object 32 generates a first signal in capacitive reading device 34 and conductive surface 22 of object 24 or first portion 28 of conductive object 32 produces a first signal. Portion 30 preferably produces a second signal at capacitive reading device 34 .

FIG. 5 shows a top view of a preferred embodiment of the electrically conductive body 32 within the meaning of the invention. An information carrier 20 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown comprising a conductive body 32 covered by two layers 9, 10 of different types of high/low dielectric constant material respectively. Layer 9 represents the first part 28 of the information carrier that produces the first signal. The remaining portion of the electrically conductive body 32 is overprinted by the layer 10 comprising the low dielectric constant material and is preferably referred to as the electrically conductive surface of the body or the "second portion" of the electrically conductive body.

FIG. 6 shows a side view of a preferred embodiment of an information carrier 20 comprising an object 24 with a conductive surface 22. FIG. The conductive surface 22 comprises a first portion 28 overprinted with a layer 9 comprising a high dielectric constant material having a dielectric constant ε1 and a second portion 30 having a low dielectric constant having a dielectric constant ε2. It is overprinted with a layer 10 comprising material.

7 shows a preferred embodiment of an information carrier 20 comprising an object 24 comprising a conductive surface 22 having a low dielectric constant spacer material 26 covering at least partially a second portion 30 of the conductive surface 22 of the information carrier 20. FIG. A side view is shown. In a preferred embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 7, the low dielectric constant spacer material 26 is formed from dots or small hills, and the spaces between the dots or hills are preferably filled with air. A first portion 28 of the conductive surface 22 of the information carrier 20 is covered by a layer 9 comprising a high dielectric constant material having a relative dielectric constant ε1.

FIG. 8 shows a side view of a preferred embodiment of an object 24 with an electrically conductive surface 22, in which detection of the information carrier 20 is performed by a capacitive reading device 34. FIG.

FIG. 9 shows a side view of a preferred embodiment of the electrically conductive body 32 in the sense of the invention, in particular of a first portion 28 and a second portion 30 of the electrically conductive body 32. FIG.

FIG. 10 shows a side view of a preferred embodiment of an object 24 with a conductive surface 22 having low dielectric constant spacers 26, particularly a preferred embodiment of first portion 28 and second portion 30. FIG. As can be seen from FIG. 10, the first portion 28 is formed from sub-areas of the dielectric layer 9 having a high dielectric constant ε1 and the second portion 30 is formed from the low dielectric constant spacer material 26. ing.

FIG. 11 shows a side view of a preferred embodiment of an object 24 with a conductive surface 22, and in particular a preferred embodiment of the first portion 28 and the second portion 30 of the conductive surface 22. FIG.

1 capacitive information carrier
2 non-conductive substrate
3 conductive areas, i.e. touch points
4 Conductive area, i.e. bonding area
5 conductive areas, i.e. conductive traces
6 front
7 Back
9 Dielectric layer with high permittivity
10 Dielectric layer with low dielectric constant
11 Devices with touch screens
12 touch screen
20 Information carriers
22 Conductive surfaces of objects
24 objects
26 Low dielectric constant spacer materials
28 Conductive surface of object or first part of conductive object
30 Conductive surface of object or second part of conductive object
32 Conductive objects
34 capacitive reading device

Claims (15)

A front side (6) and a back side (7) comprising a non-conductive substrate (2) and a first conductive area (3), a second conductive area (4) and a third conductive area (5). A capacitive planar information carrier (1) comprising
a) said conductive areas (3, 4, 5) are applied to at least said front face (6) of said information carrier (1),
b) a first dielectric layer ( 9) is placed,
c) a second dielectric layer ( 10) is placed,
The different dielectric properties of said first dielectric layer (9) and said second dielectric layer (10) result in said dielectric properties when said information carrier (1) is read by a capacitive reading device (34). An information carrier capable of improving the detection accuracy of touch points. An information carrier (1) according to claim 1,
The information carrier, wherein said first dielectric layer (9) consists of a dielectric ink having a first dielectric constant ε1 greater than 10, or greater than 20, or greater than 40. An information carrier (1) according to claim 1 or 2,
An information carrier, wherein said second dielectric layer (10) consists of a dielectric ink having a second dielectric constant ε2 of less than 4, or less than 3, or less than 2. An information carrier (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
An information carrier, wherein said electrically conductive areas (3, 4, 5) are in galvanic and/or electrical contact. An information carrier (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
Said non-conductive substrate (2) is a flat substrate selected from the group comprising paper, cardboard, plastic, wood-based materials, composites, glass, ceramics, textiles, leather, plastic products and/or any combination thereof. An information carrier made from a flexible, non-conductive material. An information carrier (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
Said conductive areas (3, 4, 5) and dielectric layers (9, 10) are manufactured by an additive printing method selected from the group comprising offset printing, flexographic printing, gravure printing, screen printing and/or digital printing. information carrier. An information carrier (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
An information carrier, wherein said electrically conductive areas (3, 4, 5) are manufactured by chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition and/or sputtering processes. An information carrier (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The material of said conductive areas (3, 4, 5) can be metal particles, nanoparticles, silver, gold, copper and/or aluminum, conductive particles, carbon black, graphite, graphene, ATO (antimony tin oxide), conductive an information carrier selected from the group comprising a flexible polymer layer, Pedot, PANI (polyalinine), polyacetylene, polypyrrole, polythiophene, pentacene or any combination thereof. A method for manufacturing an information carrier (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
a) providing said non-conductive substrate (2);
b) applying said first conductive area (3), said second conductive area (4) and said third conductive area (5) on said non-conductive substrate (2);
c) on said first conductive area (3) corresponding to one or more touch points which are desired elements to be sensed, said first applying a dielectric layer (9) of
d) above said third conductive area (5) corresponding to one or more conductive traces which are necessary but interfering elements, said second comprising a dielectric ink having a second dielectric constant ε2; applying a dielectric layer (10) of
The different dielectric properties of the first dielectric layer (9) and the second dielectric layer (10) result in the information carrier (1) being read by the capacitive reading device (34) A method capable of improving detection accuracy of the touch points. 10. Method according to claim 9, wherein the first dielectric layer (9) has a first relative permittivity [epsilon]l greater than 10, or greater than 20, or greater than 40 in the dry state. 11. A method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein said second dielectric layer (10) has a second relative dielectric constant [epsilon]2 less than 4, or less than 3, or less than 2 in the dry state. Use of an information carrier (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 8 for transmitting information to a touch screen (12),
The front surface (6) of the information carrier (1) is brought into contact with the touch screen (12), whereby said first conductive area (3) is a localized area of capacitance on the touch screen (12). Use to cause change. An information carrier (20) formed from a conductive surface (22) of an object (24) or a conductive object (32),
A first portion (28) of the conductive surface (22) of the object (24) as one or more sub-areas or a first portion (28) of the conductive object (32) comprises a first covered by a dielectric layer (9) having a dielectric constant ε1 and generating a first signal at a capacitive reading device (34);
A second portion (30) of the conductive surface (22) of the body (24) or a second portion (30) of the conductive body (32) is a dielectric material having a second relative permittivity ε2 covered by a layer (10) and/or a low dielectric constant spacer material (26) and generating a second signal at the capacitive reading device (34);
said sub-areas of said first portion (28) correspond to one or more touch points that are desired elements to be detected;
said second portion (30) conforming to the necessary but interfering elements bonding areas and conductive traces;
Said first portion (28) and said second portion (30) comprise said conductive surface (22) of said object (24) and said conductive object (32) read by said capacitive reading device (34). ), forming an information carrier. Use of an information carrier (20) according to claim 13 for transporting information to a capacitive reading device (34),
The information carrier (20) is brought into contact with the capacitive reading device (34), thereby reading the first portion (28) at the conductive surface (22) of the object (24) or the conductive object. The first signal generated in the capacitive reading device (34) by the first portion (28) of (32) is the second signal at the conductive surface (22) of the object (24). Different from said second signal generated in said capacitive reading device (34) by said second portion (30) of portion (30) or said conductive object (32). A method of manufacturing an information carrier (20) according to claim 13 , comprising:
a) providing said conductive surface (22) of said object (24) or said conductive object (32);
b) on said first portion (28) of said conductive surface (22) of said body (24) or said first portion (28) of said conductive body (32), a first dielectric applying said dielectric layer (9) having a modulus ε1;
c) on said second portion (30) of said conductive surface (22) of said body (24) or on said second portion (30) of said conductive body (32), a second dielectric applying said dielectric layer (10) and/or said low dielectric constant spacer material (26) having a modulus ε2,
said first portion (28) corresponds to one or more touch points that are desired elements to be detected;
said second portion (30) conforming to the necessary but interfering elements bonding areas and conductive traces;
Said first portion (28) and said second portion (30) comprise said conductive surface (22) of said object (24) and said conductive object (32) read by said capacitive reading device (34). ), a method.

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